Author: Marketforces Africa

Oil Prices Climb as UK Plans Sanctions on Russian Tankers Oil prices climbed in the global commodity market as the UK planned to sanction Russian fleet to increase the costs of war, accusing the operators of helping bankroll the aggressor. Market prices were also buoyed by reports of significant progress in trade negotiations between the US and China aimed at easing long standing tariff and economic tensions. Brent crude increased by around 1.34%, trading at $64.61 per barrel. The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate rose by about 1.41%, reaching $61.57 per barrel, compared to its prior session close of $60.71.…

Naira Lost N13 Despite CBN $270m FX Interventions The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) official exchange rate depreciated by N13 to close at N1609.63 against the US dollar following $270 million spent on FX intervention sales. According to data obtained from the CBN FX platform, the naira depreciated to N1609.63 at the Nigerian foreign exchange market (NFEM) from N1596.68 per US dollar at the beginning of the week. The FMDQ FX spot rate, however, appreciated slightly by 9 basis points to close at N1607.20. In the parallel market, the naira settled at N1620 amidst expectations that the CBN will end…

Academy Press Hits 52-Week High as Investors React to Earnings Academy Press Plc has reached a new 52-week high in the equities market after the company’s share price soared by 50.5% in a fresh rally. According to trading data obtained from the Nigerian Exchange, the printing and publishing stock price soared to N4.32 on Friday as more than 4.168 million units valued at N18.007 million were traded on the trading platform. The company share price had opened at N2.87 at the beginning of the week but closed at N4.37 in an all-week rally in the equities market. Hence, the company’s…

Cadbury Nigeria Hits 52-Week High as Earnings Fuel Rally Cadbury Nigeria Plc has hit another 52-week high in the equities market as investors continue to take positions in the consumer goods company stocks. According to trading data from the Nigerian Exchange, the share price of Cadbury Nigeria Plc climbed to N38.3 on Friday as 167,378 units valued at N6.472 million were traded in the local bourse. The consumer goods stock experienced an all-week rally that pushed it to its highest market valuation on the Nigerian Exchange in the last 52 weeks. Hence, Cadbury Nigeria Plc’s 2.280 billion outstanding shares were…

Coronation Capital Advises African Entities on Funding Projects Coronation Capital Limited advised African entities to prioritise funding African projects for sustainable growth. Its managing partner, Kayode Akindele, made the call while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos. Akindele said that this was necessary as a result of overdependence on developmental money, which is not sustainable. He emphasised the need for African-led funding to drive long-term progress, reducing dependence on external sources. He said by supporting African projects, entities can foster economic independence, promote local innovation, and address specific regional needs. “There has been an overdependence on developmental…

Dangote Donates N15 billion to Kano Varsity Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Group and chancellor of Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology (ADUSTECH) Wudil, has pledged N15 billion for various capital projects in the university. Dangote announced the largesse at the university’s 5th combined convocation ceremony held on Saturday in Kano. Dangote hinted that the funds would support a five-year development plan to upgrade the university to global standards. He said the planned projects included the design and construction of additional student hostels and the design and construction of engineering labs. Other projects were the design…

Oil Prices Close Positive as U.S Inventories Decline Oil prices ended the week on a positive note, driven by a drop in US crude inventories, renewed optimism surrounding US-China trade talks, and expectations of sustained global demand despite rising output from major oil producers. Brent crude traded at $63.75 per barrel, marking an increase of around 4% from last week’s closing price of $61.31. Similarly, the American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was trading at $60.69 per barrel, up approximately 4.4% from last Friday’s closing level of $58.10. The increase came despite initial pressure from an announcement by the Organization…

Equities Investors Lose N313bn as Nigerian Exchange Pullback Equities investors trading highs and lows on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) platform lost more than N313 billion as the market began to correct its latest explosive rally in the past four days. The Nigerian equity market ended the week on a negative note, snapping its recent bullish streak, as key market performance indicators dropped by 0.46%. Despite a positive market breadth, the bearish close was driven by profit-taking activities in recently appreciated medium- and large cap stocks across major market sectors of the market. As a result, the market index fell by…

Riskoff Provokes Nigerian Eurobond Yield Surge With riskoff sentiment, investors selloffs significantly impacted Nigeria’s sovereign Eurobond market, fuelling bearish sentiment and driving yields higher across the curve, according to Cowry Asset Limited. The sell pressures emerged despite the fact that Nigeria’s settlement of $3.4 billion COVID-19 support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2020. Foreign portfolio investors, and other market players have continued to weigh the impacts of latest disinflation after the rebased consumer price index, which analysts projecting inflation rate could pause the monetary policy committee from cutting benchmark interest rate in May. Fixed income market analysts said…

Oil Prices Extend Gains on US-UK Trade Deal In the global commodity market, oil prices extended gains Thursday on expectations that the US-UK trade deal could pave the way for similar agreements, as US and Chinese officials prepare to meet for talks later this week. International benchmark Brent crude increased by around 0.42%, trading at $63.28 per barrel, up from $63.01 at the previous session’s close. The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate rose by about 0.43%, reaching $60.20 per barrel, compared to its prior session close of $59.94. Oil prices continued to increase amid expectations that the US-UK trade agreement…